RPI football kicker, Andrew Franks, center, talks to members of the media after he took part in a tryout in front of three NFL scouts on Monday, April 6, 2015, at RPI in Troy, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

RPI football kicker, Andrew Franks, center, talks to members of the media after he took part in a tryout in front of three NFL scouts on Monday, April 6, 2015, at RPI in Troy, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times ... more

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - AUGUST 29: Andrew Franks #3 of the Miami Dolphins kicks a field goal during a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Sun Life Stadium on August 29, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 564179333 less

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - AUGUST 29: Andrew Franks #3 of the Miami Dolphins kicks a field goal during a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Sun Life Stadium on August 29, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Florida. ... more

Photo: Mike Ehrmann

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MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 03: Andrew Franks #3 of the Miami Dolphins kicks a field goal during a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Sun Life Stadium on September 3, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 565474075 less

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 03: Andrew Franks #3 of the Miami Dolphins kicks a field goal during a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Sun Life Stadium on September 3, 2015 in Miami Gardens, ... more

When he was in high school, Franks' goal was to earn his college degree in biomedical engineering. And — sad as this may seem — it was his ambitious academic goals that were a roadblock to kicking at some of the top football schools in the country.

Some of those schools showed him a list of majors chosen by football players, and engineering never was one. Some were even more direct in saying what others implied: It's football first and school second, so pick an easier major or play somewhere else.

But Franks was thinking about a career making prosthetics, not the NFL. So the Carmel, Calif., native passed up Division I offers and ended up at RPI, a Division III school he fell for at first sight and a team that was ready to let him major in whatever he pleased.

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He's ended up fulfilling his goal — he graduated this past spring — while also getting a chance to live the dream of every college football player: a chance to play on Sundays.

"I think it's one of the things the Dolphins saw in him," says his mother, Beth. "He had the athletic ability they were looking for, but they also could see how he multi-talked, and he had a maturity. He looked like someone who could handle the pressure."

Franks won the Dolphins' place-kicking job after a toe-to-toe battle with incumbent Caleb Sturgis during training camp. Neither missed a kick all preseason. On the final cut-down day, Miami settled on Franks.

You'll still hear those in the RPI football program tell stories about Franks' booming kicks during practices — he told a Yahoo! Sports reporter he once made a 72-yard field goal while working out on his own — and what he did during games was just about as impressive.

Among his top feats at RPI: a 54-yard field goal that set a new school record, and a 5-for-5 day — also a new RPI benchmark — in a victory over Alfred in 2013.

But Franks' parents were just as proud of what was happening in the classroom.

Most NFL prospects take few, if any, classes during the spring of their senior years, so they can be free to work out for pro teams. Franks always considered himself an NFL long shot, so he had a full course load.

He was flying around the country in between his senior project and final exams, trying to accommodate the interested NFL teams while also finishing his degree. During the final chaotic stretch, he signed with the Dolphins on May 2 and then immediately flew to a mini-camp with other rookies. Then he went back to RPI for two weeks to finish classes before heading right back to Miami for team workouts.

Franks couldn't even attend commencement ceremonies, because they coincided with camps. His parents went anyway, and not just because they already had bought plane tickets.

"It was a little strange, I will admit," his mother says with a laugh. "But we felt like it was important. We were proud."

"It took a lot of fortitude on his part," adds his father, Wayne. "He's competitive on the field and in school, and it's an incredibly difficult thing to do. His schedule was just unbelievable, and there's a lot of pressure. RPI was very supportive. We really appreciated that."

Franks' parents say their son is well aware of how tenuous NFL careers can be, especially for kickers. A little wide left at the wrong time, and his time in pro football might not last much longer than a halftime show.

Whenever his football career ends, Franks plans to put his biomedical engineering degree to use.

"He's a young man with his whole life ahead of him, and football isn't a lifelong career," his father says. "He knows that."

For Beth and Wayne, it's still a bit surreal to think the boy who started kicking in Pop Warner — and only because their league's version of the two-point conversion was a kick — will be wearing an NFL uniform.

But whether life takes him to the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, or to a lab coat building prosthetics — or, heck, both — they're proud to have seen their son fulfill his goal and now live his dream, too.